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THE 



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l SHOER'S COMPANION 




AND — 



GUIDE FOR THE MANAGEMENT AND 



CURE OF HORSES' FEET. 



By ISAAC A. CAVANAGH. 



CUMBERLAND, MD. 

DAILY TIMES PRINT. 

l88l. 



THE 



Horse Shoer's Companion 



AND 



GUIDE FOR THE MANAGEMENT AND 
CURE OF HORSES' FEET, 



WITH INSTRUCTIONS ON 

DISEASES OF THE FEET, WAYS OF HOLDING 

WHILE BEING SHOD, ON THE CHOICE 

OF FEET, STABLING, Etc., Etc. 

TOGETHER WITH A 

VARIETY OF OTHER USEFUL AND PRACTICAL 

INFORMATION TO HORSE SHOERS AND 

OWNERS OF HORSES GENERALLY. 

/ 



By ISAAC A. CAVANAGH. 






Qt/f ■ 



CUMBERLAND, MI). 
DAILY Tl MES i'KIN T. 

1SS1. 



.c$7 



Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1881, 

By ISAAC A. CAVANAGH< . 

In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington, D. C. 



TO THE READER. 



Before proceeding to read the following treatise on horse shoeing, al- 
low me to make a few remarks by way of introduction. 

In reading the following pages, you will notice that I do not mean to 
advance any new theory or "new fashion " way of shoeing — but sim- 
ply to endeavor to explain the principles and practices of the art — more 
particularly, to the unskilled or young beginners, so that they may know 
how horse shoeing ought to be done. Owners and those in care of 
horses will undoubtedly find many parts in the subsequent pages that may 
be particularly commended to their especial attention. It will give them 
an idea of when, and how, their horses should be shod ; together with 
other useful information in regard to the proper condition and care of 
horses' feet. Farmers, and others, who are not professional horse 
shoers, but who, nevertheless, occasionally nail on a shoe, will find in its 
pages many items that will be of great service to them in assisting them 
to shoe more correctly, and, also, of keeping in good condition their 
horses' feet. To the good, practical and experienced horse shoers I do 
not mean to dictate to, or offer any instructions whatever. It would be 
presumptuous and silly conceit in me were I to think of doing so. 
Those who are really good horse shoers have no need of a treatise like 
this — but believing that there are many who are not good shoers, who 
might yet be open for some improvement, to such I would think that a 
few hints would not be amiss. It has often occurred that horses shod in 
an inferior manner, have been crippled, and thereby ruined for life* 
This work is not calculated to supply all the knowledge in regard to 
horse shoeing ; still my aim has been to contribute a little toward it — 
or to give all those who may be interested an opportunity of knowing 

WHAT I KNOW ABOUT HORSE SHOEING. 

I cannot expect that it will entirely satisfy the wishes of all who may 
read it, but I sincerely hope that its contents may prove of some benefit. 
Therefore, if there be any information, or useful idea gained, on the 
subject of which it treats, my desire will be fully attained. 

Isaac A. Cavanagh. 

Ocean, Md., 1SS1. 



CONTENTS. 



Horse shoeing, 5 

On making the shoe, 6 

How to prepare the foot for shoeing, 10 

The size and shape of shoes suitable for particular horses, and the 
kind suitable for deformed, weak and diseased feet; also, cut- 
ting and overreach, 15 

Fitting the shoe, 22 

Setting and nailing on the shoe ; also, the size and number of nails 
to be used, 31 

On whipping and abusing horses while being shod ; and also ways 
of holding and managing them while shoeing, 35 

Remarks on the choosing and taking care of the feet, removing 
the shoes, &c, ... 40 



Horse Shoer's Companion. 



Horse Shoeing. 

There is probably no part of a horse that requires more 
care and attention than his feet, and in order to protect 
them from injury, and to assist him in traveling and haul- 
ing heavy loads, we must have shoes made for the protec- 
tion of his feet, as well as for his assistance and comfort 
in traveling. It is evident that if most horses had not 
shoes on that they would soon be rendered useless by their 
hoofs breaking and wearing down, owing to the hard roads 
and constantly heavy pressure that the feet are subject to, 
particularly in case the horse is drawing heavy loads. 

In the first place, then, allow me to draw your attention 
to the fact that you must make the shoe fit the foot, for it 
too often happens in careless and hurried shoeing that the 
foot is made to fit the shoe, which is most pernicious and 
evil in its results, for it often binds the foot, and, there- 
fore, hinders it from growing in its natural form. It re- 
sults in an injury to the sole of the foot by undue pres- 
sure ; is also very often a first cause for the seating of 
corns in the foot, and moreover, such shoeing, if contin- 
ued, will eventually contract and deform the feet, thereby 
laying the foundation for troublesome ailments which may 
result in permanent disease. The shoes should be the 
proper size and shape and made to suit the particular con- 
dition of the feet and the various degrees of use that will 
be required of them. We know that the horse's foot ex- 
pands when his weight is thrown on it, and contracts when 
it is taken off. Therefore it is essential that we must be 
very particular in making the shoe fit the foot and, 
also, in the manner of nailing it on, if we are not, it is very 
likely that the shoe will be put on very indifferently and 
in such a manner as will not allow the free expansion and 
contraction of the foot as nature requires, which will there- 
by cause uneasiness and injury to the animal as long as it 
remains on. 

It would be well if every horse shoer understood well 
the anatomy of a horse's foot, if they did, they would have 
a better idea of preparing the foot for shoeing, in driving 



6 HORSE SHOER S COMPANION. 

the nails and the shape of shoes that would be best suited 
for any particular kind or condition of foot, both in health 
and disease. 

I will now endeavor to give instructions how to make a 
shoe, although believing at the same time that written in- 
structions will not assist any one much in making a shoe, 
for it will take experience, time and practice with the use 
of tools before one can expect to make much progress in 
making horse shoes, but still it may impart some little 
wrinkles or ideas that may be of some use to a beginner 
or one doing their own shoeing who never learned the 
trade. 

There are plenty of men who can make a shoe better 
than the writer of this; but, as was remarked in the begin- 
ning, it is not the desire to offer any instruction to such, 
but as there are undoubtedly those who do need informa- 
tion and would be glad to receive it from any quarter, to 
them then I mean to address myself. 



On Making the Shoes. 

As to making shoes, there can only be given a general 
outline as to the manner of going through the process of 
hammering them into shape. You will hardly find two 
blacksmiths that can make shoes exactly alike; each one 
have their own peculiar way of hammering them into form. 
To be able to make a good and well finished shoe, it will 
be important to have good early training in the practice of 
making shoes, together with a natural inclination for the 
work. Having these two requisites it will be an easy mat- 
ter to make good shoes. But if on the contrary there has 
been no early training or natural ability to do the work it 
cannot reasonably be expected that there can be much 
progress made in the art. However, there are exceptions, 
for it is known that there are men who had every chance of 
becoming good workmen, but yet have failed to come up 
to that degree of excellence that might be expected of 
them, while others again, with not half the advantages of 
learning, have become by their close attention to work and 
good natural talent among the foremost in their vocation. 
It a man wishes to succeed well in any branch of the me- 
chanical arts, he must exert himself to work with a will 
and a perseverance that will not flinch nor be put back by 
any seemingly insurmountable obstacles that may appear 



HORSE SHOER S COMPANION. 



to be in his way. He must push on and persevere pa- 
tiently. Then, having done so, he will have the satisfac- 
tion of seeing all hindrance to success pass away and the 
road to prosperity in his calling made clear and bright. 

Since the year 481, at which time it is said that iron 
horse shoes were first made, there have been a vast amount 
of inventive genius used and instructions given so as to 
make the feet of all horses shaped so there may be a rule 
or pattern adopted for the formation of the feet to a regu- 
ular design instead of allowing nature to take its course 
in its natural growth and formation. The appliances are 
innumerable that have been proposed and used to take the 
place of our ordinary iron shoes. We have had shoes 
made of india rubber, felt, wood, copper, steel, etc., etc., 
but, as yet, we have to fall back on the old common iron, 
which through centuries of use have been proven beyond 
a doubt to be the best material as yet known to shoe horses 
with. 

You may learn as much as you like from books, how- 
ever theoretically excellent, still you must have that pecu- 
liarly practical knowledge that can note the variations in 
the growth and formation of feet so as to be able to make 
any required change in the design of the shoe that may be 
needful. 

Before beginning to make a shoe you will have to pick 
out the iron that will be the most suitable for the kind of 
a shoe you want to make — that is, if you want to make a 
heavy shoe you will require large size iron to make it, and 
' if a light one, you will have to choose the iron accordingly. 
It will save a great deal of time and labor by having the 
iron to suit the size of the shoe that you want to make, 
and besides will be more readily put into shape. I would 
not advise you to take thick heavy pieces of iron and 
forge them into shoes, as they sometimes do in country 
shops. There is no necessity for such mulish sort of work 
when it can be avoided by having the iron to suit the size 
of the shoe required. But perhaps you may say that the 
blacksmith may not have much to do and may probably be 
waiting anxiously for the approach of some traveler with 
the expectation that his horse may have cast a shoe; or 
the farmer's boy who may be going to the mill with his 
grist to have it ground and his harrow pins sharpened at 
the forge. Well, in such cases, when time is not a matter 
of much importance, it may do to make shoes out of al- 
most any piece of iron that can be found large enough to 
be forged into a shoe; but still it must be remembered 



8 HORSE SHOER S COMPANION. 

that the time could be more profitably employed and, 
moreover, that every piece of iron is not fit to be worked 
into shoes, There is iron made for this particular use, 
and it shouid be used in preference to all other kinds. 
Therefore, always get a piece of iron that will suit the 
t'le shoe, both in quality of material and size, then you 
may expect the work to be neatly and profitably done. 
The size of the iron commonly used for making horse 
shoes is one inch by one-half inch. You will first meas- 
ure the bar off into suitable lengths, according to the size 
of the shoe required — say from nine to fourteen inches in 
length. When you are cutting the bar up you can mark 
the centre of each piece with the corner of the cutter, it 
will guide you to have the pieces bent exactly in the cen- 
tre. Bend the pieces around to about square and then 
they will be ready for forging into shoes. 

Before making a shoe you will require to have a tongs 
to hold it, and, therefore, I think I had better say something 
about the shape of the tongs required. You will make it 
about twenty inches long, have the jaws not over an inch 
and a half in length, and hollow them lengthwise in the 
centre as then they will hold the iron much better. You 
can make the "legs" out of half-inch round iron. Take 
hold of the piece with the tongs about half-way between 
the toe and the heel, and when ready for forging place it 
on the face of the anvil edgewise, and commence by strik- 
ing three or four blows along on the end of the piece. 
Then quickly bring it on the beak edgewise and begin 
hammering at the centre or toe, at the same time gradual- 
ly drawing it in towards you until you have it hammered 
to the end. Now bring it quickly to the face of the anvil, 
holding it flat on it, and commence at the toe, again ham- 
mering or flattening it along to the heel. The helper will 
now stop striking, and you will take it again to the beak 
of the anvil striking yourself and setting it to the shape 
you want it; once more take it to to the end of fhe anvil 
and flatten it off with your hammer. You must remember 
while going through all this work to have the inside'of the 
shoe thinner than the outside, for the reason that it will 
hinder the shoe from pressing on the sole of the foot, par- 
ticularly flat-footed horses. Next turn it over and place 
the fuller on it about an inch or thereabouts from the end 
of the heel and about three-sixteenths of an inch from the 
outside edge. The helper will strike the fuller quickly, 
and while he is doing so gradually draw it around to near- 
ly the centre. Keep the side of the fuller that is towards 



HORSE SHOER S COMPANION. 9 

you raised a little, so that it will not catch in the iron 
while you are bringing it around, Now if the shoe be 
still hot enough you can stamp the holes, placing the first 
one from about two and a half to three and a half inches 
from the heel, according to the size of the shoe. Stamp 
all the holes at an equal distance apart from each other ; 
except there may be a bad or broken place in the hoof, and, 
in such case it may be necessary for you to move the holes 
accordingly. Punch the holes through with the pritchel, 
and be sure to leave no burs or raised parts around them, 
but to have the shoe nice and smooth all round on the in- 
side — on side next to foot. 

Having done this you will now have one side of the 
shoe finished ; the other side you will do the same — as I 
have explained — except that you will begin fullering at the 
toe instead of the heel. The outside of the shoe is usual- 
ly turned first, but it don't matter much which side of the 
shoe you turn first so that you make a good shoe. All 
blacksmiths do not turn shoes alike, nearly every one has 
their own peculiar way of working and doing work. 

When you are turning shoes take care not to bend the 
side too much at the toe, if you do, in all probability 
when you have the other side bent the same way you will 
very likely have it too wide across at the toe. It is always 
easier to widen a shoe at the toe than to make it narrow. 
The greater number of the shoes now used are made by 
machinery, and are as good, and I believe even better 
than those made by hand. Owing to the machine made 
shoes being so generally used, there are consequently a 
great many horse shoers now who can hardly make a good 
shoe. Every blacksmith who shoes horses ought to be 
able to make a good and perfect shoe with his own hands, 
for then he can have a shoe to suit any kind of a foot that 
might require a special shoe made for it. It is an evident 
fact that all horses have not got good, sound feet: some 
have deformed, broken, weak and flat-feet, and in such 
cases it is requisite for the shoer to understand the way 
to make a shoe that will be suitable for the foot and easy 
for the horse to walk on. Therefore I would say to every 
young beginner at horse shoeing: try and learn to be able 
to make a good shoe, for then you can do your work, 
and be qualified to do it, under all circumstances. I be- 
lieve now that I have said all that there is any necessity 
for me saying on making shoes. As I have before re- 
marked, there are different kinds of shaped shoes required 



IO HORSE SHOER S COMPANION. • 

for particular kind of feet, so that it would be of no use, and 
moreover it would be impossible, for me to describe the 
way to make all the differently shaped shoes, for as there 
are so many bad and deformed feet to be shod, that I 
think it would be useless for me to give directions as to 
how the work should be done in shaping such shoes, for 
as it- would be directly indispensible for to see the foot in 
order to make the particular kind of shoe that would be 
requisite for it. 

Hence there would not be any use in giving specific di- 
rections. And again, it is above all essential that one 
must have practical experience in making shoes before be- 
ing able to make and fit a shoe for every peculiarity of 
the foot. 

Further on I shall have something to say on the shape 
of shoes suitable for deformed and diseased feet, and the 
size and shape appropriate for particular horses. 



How to Prepare the Foot for Shoeing. 

We come now to a subject that requires a great deal of 
attention, and I can say in many instances it receives but 
a very small amount of the consideration that it properly 
and needfully requires. It is very important that proper 
attention be given to the preparation of the foot for shoe- 
ing, because when the hoof is properly treated for all ir- 
regularities in the growth and for the various diseases and 
injuries that it is constantly subject to, it cannot but be a 
benefit to the horse in every particular to have his feet 
attended to in regard to preparation for shoeing. It is 
reasonable to suppose, and it agrees with good common 
sense, that a horse will travel better with his feet properly 
trimmed and well seated in his shoes, than in any other 
manner. 

I will now proceed with my remarks in regard to pre- 
paring the foot. If a horse has a strong, well-shaped foot 
with the sole well arched or dished, you will not have 
much trouble in preparing it for shoeing; with such a foot 
as with all others, you will commence by cleaning out the 
cleft of the frog, and between the frog and the bars. 
Having done this you will then trim all the rough and de- 
tached parts of the frog away. There will be no necessity 



HORSE SHOER S COMPANION. II 

for you to slice or cut away any of it, because, generally 
speaking, it will naturally wear away without having occa- 
sion to cut it; there is another and greater reason, too, 
why you should not be too ready in cutting away the frog, 
and it is this : the frog, by its soft and pliable nature, acts, 
as it were, like a cushion under the foot; it also protects 
the foot from the jar and hard knocks that it is continual- 
ly subject to by going over hard roads. It assists, too, in 
the expansion of the foot and helps to support the weight 
of the animal. By cutting it you lay bare the inside or 
sensitive part of the frog, it will therefore nearly lose all 
its moisture, get dry and hard as the hoof, and be almost 
useless for the purpose it was intended for by nature. By 
carelessly and uselessly cutting down the frog you lay bare 
a part of the foot that requires a good and strong protec- 
tion. There is a joint which is called the "navicular 
joint " about an inch or an inch and a quarter behind the 
point of the frog; it is very easily strained or bruised from 
sudden concussion, and if injured is very difficult to cure; 
therefore, if for only this do not cut the frog, for by doing 
so you leave exposed this joint which needs to be so well 
protected. Nature will do the trimming of the frog in 
nearly all cases and the horse will be better and more ser- 
viceable in every particular. After having trimmed up 
the frog, cleaned out between the bars and the frog, you 
will then proceed to pare down the foot, if it needs any. 
If it be a weak, flat-foot it will not require any paring at 
all, but just to merely cut off any inequality of the sole. 
It is very well known that a horse with a flat foot is more 
liable to have the sole injured by coming in contact with 
stones, etc., in the road, than one with a high concave foot. 
It is often necessary to put a stout piece of leather or 
other substance between the foot and the shoe of a weak, 
flat-footed horse to protect the sole of the foot from being 
bruised or injured, such injury often resulting in the crip- 
pling of the animal for life. Such a foot, then, requires 
no paring; but only just what is necessary to make the 
foot level all around. I do not mean, though, that you 
shall make the sole level with the outside of the hoof or 
rim, because with some feet it would be utterly impossible 
to do it without crippling the horse. The soles of some 
flat-footed horses are a great deal higher than the outside 
rim of the hoof, therefore it would not do to level the sole 
of such a foot with the outside — if you would, you would 
surely do the horse an injury. You must then have the 



12 HORSE SHOER S COMPANION. 

foot as level as you can on the outside or rim, so that the 
shoe will bear evenly and nicely on it all around. (The 
kinds of a shoe to suit such a foot will be described here- 
after.) Cut down the bars of the foot about even with 
the sole, but do not cut any off on the inside or side next 
to the frog — leave that alone. I will give you my reasons 
too, why I think you should not cut any there. The bars 
hinder the foot from closing in upon the frog, and conse- 
quently if you cut them in the inside you weaken them 
and leave the foot liable to narrow in or become contrac- 
ted, and also cutting down between the bars and the frog 
at the heel will tend to do the same thing. I have seen 
shoers cutting down or "opening out the heels" until they 
would draw the blood. I cannot see what motive they can 
have for cutting away the hoof there for, it surely cannot 
be with an idea of doing the foot any good, for on the con- 
trary, in my opinion, it will do a great injury, because it 
takes away from that part of the hoof the strength re- 
quired there to keep the heels from wiring in or becoming 
contracted, which in many cases lays the foundation of 
permanent lameness and incurable disease of the foot. 
People often wonder why their horse gets lame, they see 
no outward sign that would cause it, and yet they are so 
surprised 4 that he is lame they will think probably that it 
is in the knee or the shoulder; it may be, too, for all that, 
but in very many cases there is no doubt but it has been 
caused by too much cutting away between the bars and 
the frog. 

Before beginning to prepare the foot for shoeing it 
would be well for you to stand around partly in front of 
the horse so as to see how his feet looks, if the foot has 
grown out long and thin and irregular, it will require some 
trimming so as to bring it to a good and natural looking 
shape, but you must mind not to cut off too much, for if 
you did it might cause the horse to go along in a stumbling 
manner by not being used to the change. If the foot pro- 
ject out thin and uneven, trim it off also. In a word, 
trim the hoof all around to what you think ought to be its 
natural shape, keeping in mind, also, to not cut any away 
that would interfere with the natural formation of the foot 
or that would do an injury to the crust. Of course you 
cannot put a good-looking foot in the place of a bad-look- 
ing one, but you can improve the looks considerably by 
careful trimming and proper management. A good, strong 
well-shaped foot you will not have much trouble with; al- 



HORSE SHOER S COMPANION. 1 3 

most any one could put a shoe on such a foot if they had 
a shoe that would fit, because there is not much danger 
of injuring the foot, providing the nails come out in any 
sort of proper way. While paring down the soles of the 
feet remember that you must not cut away too much. You 
may pare the foot down until it will yield to hard pressure 
from your thumb, but remember not any thinner; do not 
pare it down until it would yield to light pressure, for if 
you did it would be too thin and consequently would be 
bruised by stones and other hard substances on the road. 
I would not advise you to be too anxious in paring down 
the sole of any foot, for it is not often you will find it too 
thick, generally all that is necessary to be done is to re- 
move all the uneven and detached pieces. If a horse has 
weak flat-feet they will be sore and tender and the horse 
will be very uneasy while standing on them barefooted ; 
with such feet you had better take only one shoe off at 
a time and shoe that foot before taking off another, he will 
stand better and quieter on the old shoe than if bare- 
footed. A horse with a good, strong, high-foot will gen- 
erally stand as well with his shoes off as on, but it will be 
as well for you to keep them on, it will hinder him from 
breaking his hoof by scraping and jumping around and 
you can only shoe one foot at a time anyhow. In taking 
off shoes be particular in having all the clinches of the 
nails cut all around the foot. If the shoes be tight on do 
not pull or jerk them too hard; first get your pincers and 
take a hold of the shoe near the heel, give it a light and 
smart jerk and if you have loosened it you can take hold 
of the nails and pull them out. If the shoe be tight on 
you had better pull the nails out with the pincers, by 
doing so it will not hurt the horse or injure his hoof as 
much as if you would pull them out with the shoe, but if 
the shoe be loose after having cut the clinches you can 
pull shoe and nails all together. 

The feet of some horses are extremely hard and dry 
and it is very difficult to cut them with the paring knife. 
To soften them so that you can cut them more easily get 
a light piece of flat iron, heat the end of it hot and place 
it on the sole of the foot moving all around on the parts 
that need paring, it will soften the hoof and not do it a bit 
of injury, because the parts you have heated will be all 
cut off, leaving it hard and solid underneath and easily 
pared down to what is wanted. A hot iron laid on a 
horse's foot will soften and disintegrate the hoof, therefore 



14 HORSE SHOER S COMPANION. 

it would be better for you not to heat the sole of a thin or 
flat-foot, it being thin and sensitive you would injure it by 
doing so, because you cannot cut off to the depth the heat 
has penetrated. A great many people have a peculiar 
notion that heating a horse's hoof will injure him, they 
look at it, also, as being a horrid and cruel action to place 
a hot iron on a horse's foot, but reader, do not mind these 
croakers, they know nothing about the matter; as I have 
said, I would not advise you to heat the sole of a flat- 
footed horse, neither would I advise you to heat any foot 
that would be soft enough to cut with the knife. I only 
mean those feet that are so very hard that they can hardly 
be cut, with such a foot, I say, heating them with a hot 
iron so as to soften will not hurt them, because all that is 
heated or softened is cut off with the knife which leaves a 
sound, solid bearing underneath ; I would like to know 
then how the foot can be injured. But as I have said be- 
fore, there is no necessity for applying heat to any part to 
soften it except it be so very hard that it can hardly be 
cut, and then with such a foot, I contend, that moderately 
heating it as I have described will not injure in the least. 
Always pay attention and see if there are any corns in 
the feet when you are paring them down. Corns are most 
frequently found in low, weak heels and flat-feet, a horse 
having such feet it is hard to keep them away, but gener- 
ally corns are caused by negligence on the part of the 
smith, the groom and the owner. They mostly occur in 
the inside heel, in the angles between the bars and the 
quarters, there being more weight thrown on the inside 
heel and it being weaker than the outside it is more subject 
to them. They are principally caused by the pressure of 
the foot on the shoe together with inferior fitting. The 
shoe should not be kept very long on a horse that has 
corns in his feet, they should be removed every two or five 
weeks (according to the extent of the disease,) cleaned out 
and dressed up. By carelessness in paring the hoof the 
angle between the bars and the quarters are left as high or 
higher than the outside crust, thereby having the pressure 
there instead of on the hoof or crust where it ought to be. 
If they be recent corns they can be easily cured by care- 
ful shoeing. If then the corns be recent all you have to 
do is to pare down between the bars and the quarters just 
so that the shoe will not press on the corns, then with a 
small paring knife cut out the diseased matter, taking care 
not to wound the sole or cut any more of the sound part 



HORSE SHOER S COMPANION. 15 

than you can help, if there is no blood or matter under- 
neath all that is necessary to be done is to fill up the hole 
with a tar and tow mixed or something of that nature that 
would keep it soft. If they are slight and of just a red- 
dish appearance you can cut them out a little and heat the 
end of a small rod and rub it ever them slightly, but when 
the corn extends down into the foot and when there is 
blood and matter there, and in some cases actually rotten, 
it has very likely turned to Quittor, for which disease it 
will have to be treated. I do not propose to lay down 
any treatment for diseases of the horse, that I think would 
be off my subject. The treatment for the diseases of the 
horse can be found in Youatt or Mayhew on diseases of 
the horse, two very good books. 

Before I close this subject allow me to remind you (so 
that you may remember well,) that you should always be 
careful in cutting and paring down horses' feet, for care- 
lessness in this regard is often the cause of a great deal of 
injury, and let me add, also, that you should be always 
careful in paring down any foot, for if you are not (par- 
ticularly if you are not acquainted with the character of 
the foot,) you might pare it down too thin before you 
would be aware of what you were doing. I have done 
this myself through carelessness, and therefore I know 
whereof I speak. A good, stout, strong, healthy sole is 
what a horse ought to have, and therefore you ought to 
always try to have his feet as near that condition as pos- 
sible. 



The Size and Shape of Shoes 

Suitable for Particular Horses, and the Kind Suitable for De- 
formed, Weak and Diseased Feet ; also, 
Cutting and Overreach. 

There are a great many different shaped shoes required 
in shoeing; some have to be made light and others heavy; 
others again suitable for diseased, deformed or weak feet, 
and for every particular or special service. A common, 
medium-sized shoe will do for any sound well-shaped foot, 
but it must be made to agree with the size and weight of 
the horse, also. A horse that does light work, or no work 
at all, will not require to have as heavy a shoe as one that 
has to do hard work. Racers and trotters, and horses like 
them, having a good sound foot, \ think a light, narrow 



l6 HORSE SHOER'S COMPANION. 

shoe, without toe or heel calks would be the most suitable 
except that the horse has some peculiarity in travelling, or 
some very rough roads to travel over. In such cases it 
may be desirable to make shoes to suit accordingly- In 
shoeing you will have to act very often according to the 
notion or fancy of the groom or owner. They will desire 
to have their horse shod in a manner to please themselves, 
notwithstanding what you may say or think about it. If 
a horse has low heels, it would better for you to turn calks 
on the shoes. I have seen horses with heels so low, that 
with flat or spring heel shoes on, the frog of the foot 
would be a great deal higher than the heels of the shoe, 
therefore, throwing almost the entire weight upon the frog. 
By thickening up the heels of such shoes, so as to bring 
them on at least a level with the frog (which they ought 
to be) would probably make them clumsier and heavier 
than they should be. It would be better then for you to 
turn up neat heels on such shoes, than for you to thicken 
them up. You must bear in mind that the shoe ought not 
to be any lower than the frog, then it will be defended 
from the wear, bruises and injury it would receive, if it 
came upon the ground with the full force of the foot. 

For a work horse, have a good stout shoe — not too 
heavy though; you can form a good idea of the weight the 
shoe ought to be by the size of the horse. Have toe and 
heel calks on, and a clip turned up at the toe. It is bet- 
ter always to have a clip on the toe of a shoe, particularly 
on shoes for working horses, it keeps the shoe steadier on 
the foot and from being knocked back. If the calk be 
welded on the shoe square with the toe, and the clip 
turned up neatly in the centre of the toe, the shoe will stay 
on longer, and if it be fitted on well will look better and 
neater than without clips. It is customary with some shoers 
to turn up clips on the sides of the shoes at the quarters. 
For my part I think that it is wrong altogether to do so; 
it may do very well to put a clip on one side when the 
horse pitches out or in, as the case may be; with such a 
foot, I do not think a good broad clip on the side of a 
shoe would do any harm but, on the contrary, would do 
some good, because it would keep the shoe steadier and 
from twisting around on the foot. I have often put clips 
on the side of shoes myself, but in no case would I wish 
to have them on both sides of the shoe; I think it is 
very wrong to do so, because having clips on both sides 
of the shoe it will have a tendency to bind or squeeze the 



HORSE SHOER S COMPANION. I 7 

foot together in such a manner as, in my opinion, will real- 
ly be the cause of serious injury ; it will have the foot 
bound up perfectly tight, and when the weight is thrown 
on it, there is but little chance for the free and natural-like 
action of the foot. If this way of shoeing is pursued in it 
will eventuall3 r cause the foot to narrow in or contract, con- 
sequently causing lameness and, perhaps, make the horse 
worthless for life. If the hoof be broken and you think 
you cannot keep a shoe on without the aid of clips on both 
sides of the shoe, if you could possibly do it, it would be 
better for you to turn the horse out, or let him rest until 
such time as the hoof would grow again. 

You will see horses that sometimes walk on the edge of 
their feet — so much so, that the other side will hardly 
touch the ground. It is customary in shoeing such feet to 
turn up only one calk on the shoe, leaving the other one 
flat. The calk is put under the low heel for the purpose of 
raising that side up so that the weight will come down 
more evenly on the foot. This may be all very well, but 
turning up only one heel on a shoe, I think, ought not to 
be done, for I believe that it feels awkward under a horse's 
foot, and besides that, might be the cause of straining or 
uncomfortable jarring of the foot. I think a better plan 
would be to forge that side of the shoe thicker than the 
other side, or if you have the shoe made, you can hold it 
in the vise and thicken it up by striking it on the end, or 
you can chamfer out the end and turn it over flat; you 
can then leave it as it is, or weld it and finish up to your 
liking. With the heel made in this way I believe the horse 
will travel better and receive less damage to his hock back 
sinews or fetlock joint than with the heel turned up the 
other way. You will see horses having long, narrow feet ; 
with such feet they generally throw most of the weight on 
the outside of the foot, and the foot being usually so very 
narrow at the heels in such cases that it appears difficult 
for him to walk when unshod, and he will not travel far 
without becoming lame: such feet seldom grow naturally 
in this manner, but have become so from disease or some 
other cause. In fitting up a shoe for such a foot, be care- 
ful to have the toe calk (if you put any on,) in the centre 
of the shoe or a little more, if any, to the side he leans on. 
It would be well for you to widen out the heels of such a 
shoe, more particularly the one that he leans out on, as 
they mostly always pitch on the outside of the foot, it may 
not, therefore, be necessary for you to bring out the inside 



l8 HORSE SHOER'S COMPANION. 

heel much, or maybe none at all, it depends upon the 
form of the foot and the way the horse throws his feet in 
traveling. Some horses if the inside heel was widened 
out they would tread or cut themselves while traveling. 
If you have to widen out the heel of a shoe bring it out 
so that it will be plumb or even with the outside of the 
foot, which you can best see by looking down along the 
side of the leg and foot. It will always be best to shoe 
such a foot in the manner I have explained ; the horse 
will travel better, safer and easier, the foot will come down 
more level on the ground and will be better supported 
than if shod with a shoe having the heels almost touching, 
which also makes the foot more liable to be strained. If 
you have a horse with diseased or deformed feet, I would 
advise you always to go to the best shoer you can find to 
have him shod, he will know the kind of a shoe best 
adapted for the foot. 

A flat foot will require a shoe having a wide web, be- 
cause the sole of such a foot, being generally thin and 
weak, requires to be protected from being injured on hard 
and rough roads. The crust of such feet being weak and 
brittle, you must have the shoe pretty stout, so that it will 
not bend or give when the weight comes on it. If the 
shoe is too light for such a foot it would be painful and 
injurious to the horse as long as it would remain on him. 
You must be careful to have the shoe well seated all around 
on the foot — to have it bear level and evenly on all parts 
of the crust. /The web of the shoe being wide, in fitting 
it you must not let it rest on the sole, for it being thin 
and weak, the pressure coming on it would bruise it, and 
it would be almost as painful for the horse to walk on it 
as if he had no shoe on at all. But, remember, do not 
have the web of the shoe raised much off the sole, 
just have it so that it will not press on it ; if you would 
raise it too much off the sole you would thereby leave room 
for dirt, coarse sand and small stones to enter under it, 
which would bruise it equally or if not more than if the 
shoe pressed upon it. It is often necessary in shoeing 
flat and tender footed horses, and in many diseases of the 
foot, to have a covering put on the sole for protection. A 
piece of gum, such as is used for the joints of steam pipes, 
&c, is very good, or a piece of sole leather, or a piece of 
waterproof felt, wouid do very well ; and if you have 
nothing else handy a piece of an old boot leg will do. I 
will now tell you how to fit the covering to the foot. Take 



HORSE SHOER S COMPANION. IQ 

the shoe, after you have it fitted and ready to nail on the 
foot, and lay it on the covering, with the heels of the shoe 
even with the edge of the piece ; mark the form of the 
shoe upon it with any pointed instrument ; after having 
marked it, lift the shoe off and cut the piece out according 
to the mark. Now, get pine tar (not gas tar, for that will 
make the foot hard and brittle); you may mix with it a 
little grease or fish oil ; spread it all over the sole of the 
foot; then you must fill in between the frog and the crust 
on both sides with oakum or something similar, on a level 
with the frog on each side ; put some in the cleft of the 
frog, it will prevent the dirt from getting in ; connect the 
oakum that you have put in the cleft with that you have 
on the sides; it will therefore prevent it from working 
out behind. Now place the leather on top of the filling 
and nail the shoe on as if there was nothing under it. 
This will be a great means of restoring the foot to a good, 
healthy condition ; it will soften it, and thereby encourage 
it to a sound and vigorous growth. You will perhaps see 
horses having a split or crack running down the front of 
the foot ; in bad cases the hoof will be split open from 
the coronet down to the toe. When a foot is in this con- 
dition it is difficult for the horse to walk, and it may get 
so bad that he will not be able to walk at all, or even press 
his weight upon it until it gets better. Therefore, to keep 
the crack from spreading, and from the sides of the crack 
moving upon each other, and from dirt and other matter 
getting into it, we must have some kind of a shoe made 
that will help it as much as possible. I have made shoes 
for such feet, as follows : Make the shoe and fit it to suit 
the foot in the usual way ; now forge out two straps (out 
of good iron) about five-eighths of an inch wide and an 
eighth or something less than an eighth of an inch thick ; 
have it a little wider at the end, where you will punch a 
three-eighth hole for a bolt. Now get a small strap or 
piece of twine and measure from the quarters around to 
within about five-eighths of an inch of the centre of the 
hoof and about half way between the toe and the coronet. 
Have the end of the strap turned down at the holes nearly 
square ; you will then measure them off to the proper 
length, allowing enough for the weld on the shoe ; you can 
have the straps a little thicker at the ends, so as to allow 
for the waste in welding. Having all ready now, you will 
weld them on each side of the shoe at the quarters, re- 
membering to hold them at an angle, so that when they 



20 HORSE SHOER S COMPANION. 

are bent around they will meet at the proper place on the 
hoof. Now, having them welded on, you will bend them 
around to what you think is the shape of the foot. Now 
put the shoe on the foot and see does it fit to its proper 
place, and if it fits you will then heat the straps and let 
them cool off; they will be softer then and can be bent 
and fitted exactly to the foot after having the shoe nailed 
on, if you have not got them bent exactly before putting 
the shoe on. In fitting the shoe do not let the straps press 
too tightly against the hoof near the sole ; it would bind 
and squeeze the foot too much, and would, therefore, be 
painful and disagreeable to the horse. Put a five-sixteenth 
bolt through the straps and draw them up until they press 
lightly and close around the foot. You must be careful 
not to screw up the bolt too much, for by doing so you 
would have the straps pressing too tightly on the crust, 
which would not do. If you put any dressing on the crack for 
treatment, you can cover it by putting a piece of leather or 
canvas between the straps and hoof ; it will help some to 
keep the crack moist, and also will do some good by keep- 
ing out dirt, &x. I have used these shoes on horses hav- 
ing cracks in their feet with very satisfactory results. An- 
other way of fastening or keeping together a split hoof is 
to bore two holes on each side of the crack and put long 
nails through the holes and clinch them tight, applying at 
the same time a mixture of turpentine, pine tar and whale 
oil, or some other good foot ointment that maybe suitable 
for the purpose. If the foot be very hard and brittle rub 
it with a mixture of spirits of tar, two ounces, and fish oil, 
four ounces. This is a very penetrating mixture for soft- 
ening feet, and where you come across hard and brittle 
feet of any description it is very good to apply to them. 
There are horses that strike their leg with the opposite 
foot, which consequently causes a deep and ugly wound, 
and from the continual striking makes it very disagreeable 
to the horse while traveling. The striking is done in such 
a variety of ways that it is almost impossible to form a 
shoe that will suit every case of cutting. If then you are 
going to shoe a horse that "cuts" either before or behind, 
you will want to know what part of the shoe strikes. To find 
out this, get a piece of cloth or leather, or something of 
the kind, and fasten it around the place where he strikes, 
put some clay or anything else that will stick to the shoe, 
on the covering at the place where he strikes, and then 
trot him along the road; he will soon pick off some of the 



HORSE SHOER S COMPANION. 21 

stuff with the opposite foot, thereby showing you the ex- 
act part of the shoe he strikes with, which you can alter 
in the new shoe. If the heel of the shoe strikes you can 
easily remedy the matter by keeping the shoe well in and 
bevelling or rounding off the part that strikes. If there 
are no calks on the shoe and it strikes, you will also have 
to keep the heel of the shoe well in and have the edge 
rounded off so as to keep it as far back as possible. When 
a horse travels "close" you must be careful not to let the 
shoe project beyond the hoof, and also to have the clinches 
of the nails well closed in and rasped off so that they will 
not be above the level of the crust, for it is often the case 
that horses cut with the clinch of the nails, or the hoof 
even, instead of the shoe. It is nearly always a very small 
matter that causes cutting, and you would be surprised to 
see what a little change in fitting the shoe would hinder it. 
After you have the shoe nailed on, if the leg be cut or 
swollen, you may tie a piece of old canvas or something, 
of the kind around it and apply some good healing lini- 
ment to it, and it will soon heal up if the shoe does not 
strike it again. Cutting often arises from some malforma- 
tion of the horse or from some peculiar way of traveling; 
in such cases there will be no way to remedy the matter 
but by having a " buffer" fastened on the leg, or you can 
have a boot made to buckle on the leg, reaching from the 
knee to the fetlock. If you cannot make any alteration in 
the shoe to keep the horse from cutting or interfering, 
there is no remedy that I know of, but to keep the leg 
protected by a boot or pad. 

Overreach is another disagreeable and annoying fault 
that some horses have; it is caused by the toe of the hind 
foot striking against the fore foot, which produces that 
disagreeable noise that is termed forging or clinking. 
Many persons imagine that the horse strikes the toe of his 
hind foot against the heel of his front foot; but it is hard- 
ly ever the case; it is caused by the shoe striking in be- 
tween the sides of the front shoes, near the centre of the 
foot. It is very unpleasant while driving or riding a horse 
to hear that continual clinking sound. To prevent it you 
will round off or bevel the rims of the hind shoes around 
the toe, and you may put narrower shoes than usual on the 
front feet, providing the sole of the foot be good and 
strong; chip or hammer off the corner or edge of the shoe 
at the sides, on the inside and ground surface. If after being 
shod the above way he still strikes or forges, you will have 



2 2 HORSE SHOER S COMPANION. 

to keep the hind shoe back on the foot, letting the hoof 
project beyond it around the toe; the noise will then stop, 
because the hoof will touch before any part of the shoes 
can come together. Overreach may be occasioned by the 
horse not being broken as well as he ought to have been, 
or it may be occasioned, too, by him having very high 
hind quarters and low fore ones, and it also happens some- 
times from the result of bad shoeing; if so, it is very easi- 
ly remedied by a careful and proper fitting of the shoe. 
I will close this subject now, having said all that I believe 
to be necessary, and proceed with another one, which is 
the fitting of the shoe, a matter of first importance in 
shoeing. 



Fitting the Shoe. 

Fitting a shoe on a horse's foot is a part of the shoer's 
art that requires more than ordinary attention, and you 
have to be very particular in more ways than one, in order 
that you may have it put on well, and in a finished and 
workmanlike manner. No matter how well. you may have 
the foot prepared to receive it, still, if you have the shoe 
put on in an inferior manner, it will not look well, and all 
the care and attention that you may have given to the 
foot will be of no credit to you in the eyes of the public, 
because people always look at the outside appearance first, 
and, therefore, if the appearance of the shoeing does not 
impress them favorably, you are at once put down as being 
"not much of a shoer," although, at the same time they 
may not know the difference between good and bad shoe- 
ing ; but still, in a business point of view, their opinion 
thus expressed may be an injury to your business. So, 
even if it were for no other reason than that, you should 
always try to make the shoe fit the foot as neatly and cor- 
rectly as possible. And not only is it the looks that re- 
quire attention, but it is actually necessary that you make 
the shoe fit the foot in every respect in regard to size, 
shape, fitting, and every other particular. 

I will now suppose that you have the foot ready for fit- 
ting the shoe on it. You will now choose a shoe that will 
suit the condition of the foot and the particular kind of 
work the horse will be engaged at. As I have said before, 
if the foot be a strong, good-shaped one, it will be very 
easy to find a shoe that will suit it; almost any ordinary 



horse shoer's companion. 23 

shoe will do if it is properly fitted. But if it be a weak, 
flat foot, you must be careful to have the shoe strong enough, 
so that when the weight is thrown upon it there will be no 
fear of its springing or bending. Having chosen a shoe 
that you think is about the right size and suitable in every 
way, you will then hold it on the foot so as to see what is 
to be done to it, in order to make it fit properly. If you 
are going to put on a flat shoe, one without toe or heel 
calks, you will commence by fitting the toe of the shoe 
first, which ought to be done with all shoes. Now place 
the toe of the shoe in the fire, and if you are going to 
turn up a clip at the toe, when it is hot enough take it out 
and hold it on a corner of the anvil, at the toe, and draw 
it out with the hammer, so as to form a stout and neat 
clip. In hammering up the clip keep the corner or edge 
of the shoe at the top as square around it as you can, for 
in hammering it up you may leave a hollow in the toe of 
the shoe, under the clip ; of course it does not do the shoe 
any injury, but still, after the shoe has been nailed on, it 
would look better to have the rim even and regular all 
around. 

Having turned up the clip, leveled the shoe all around, 
and hammered down the pritchel burs at the nail holes, 
you will then stick the pritchel in one of the outside holes 
of the shoe, then place it on the foot in its proper position, 
with the clip pressing up against the toe. If you have not 
previously cut out a place for the clip, the shoe will be 
sufficiently hot to mark where you are to cut it. Having a 
place cut out, put the shoe on the foot again and press it 
at the toe, so that the clip will be well seated, and so as to 
leave no holes or " wants " in the crust on either side of 
the clip. If the shoe fits the foot properly around the toe, 
the next thing for you to do will be to cut off the heels. 
Now, you must watch and not cut them off too short, for 
it is easier for you to cut them again if they are too long 
than for to draw, and, worse yet, perhaps, spoil the shoe. 
Now, after you have cut off the heels to what you think is 
the right length, you will then close them in to the shape 
of the foot, but before closing them in cut off the corners, 
both on the outside and inside of the shoe; a half-round 
chisel of about an inch in diameter would be a very 
convenient tool for cutting off the heels with, because 
with one cut of it you can make them to the proper shape. 
And I may remark here, that when you are fitting a shoe, 
have the outside heel just a little longer than the inside 



24 HORSE SHOER S COMPANION. 

one, because the outside heel of a horse's foot being longer 
than the inside one, it therefore requires the heel of the 
shoe to be a little longer also. You will see horses that 
wear their shoes short off at the toe, when the other parts 
of the shoe will hardly be worn any. It is customary to 
weld a piece of flat steel on the toe of such shoes, and after 
the shoe has been fitted to the foot, to heat it again and 
plunge it into the water, thereby making the steel as hard 
as possible, for the purpose of making the shoe last longer. 
It may do well enough to weld steel toes on the shoes of 
horses which have slow work and hard roads to travel 
over, but I don't believe in welding them on the shoes of 
horses that have light and fast work to do. I will tell you 
the reason why. We all know that horses go better and 
stumble less in old shoes (providing they have not been on 
too long, when the foot likely will have grown too long for 
the shoes) than they do in new ones, because the toe being 
worn away, it no longer jars the foot by striking against 
the road; therefore, it is plain enough that a horse that 
wears his shoes hard at the toe will not travel as well with a 
hard lump of steel on the toe as he will without it. And 
again, a good iron shoe will last as long on a horse as it 
ought to be on, for when it is worn out at the toe, on tak- 
ing the shoe off you will generally see the web of the shoe 
next to the foot grooved or worn in by the crust, and then 
it is about time the shoe was off anyhow. I never heard 
that it was of any benefit to the horse that steel toes were 
welded on shoes, the principal reason is, I think, that it is 
to be saving on the purse of the owner, in preventing the 
shoes from wearing out so soon. My opinion is then, 
that it is better not to put steel toes on shoes, pai-ticirfarly 
on shoes for fast horses. When you are fitting a shoe for 
a horse that wears the toe off short, it is a very good 
plan to bend or turn up the toe of the new shoe from the 
ground, to nearly the shape of the old one; he will travel 
easier and better on it from the time it is put on, whereas he 
never traveled well on the old one until the toe was worn 
away. Turning up the toe makes the shoe last about as 
long as if there was steel on it, and, moreover, saves the 
horse from the jar and hard knocks his foot would re- 
ceive if the toe was hard and flat on the ground. Rasp- 
ing or paring down the toe of a good strong foot to suit 
the "turn-up " of the shoe will not injure the foot at all; 
but there are some feet that have such a thin crust and 
weak sole that it would not be advisable for you to pare 



HORSE SHOER S COMPANION. 25 

any off at the toe; with such feet you will have to leave 
the toe of the shoe flat, even if he does wear hard on it. 
Remember, there is no particular necessity for turning up 
the toe of any shoe, except for horses that wear hard on 
the toe and who have fast work to do also. Horses do 
not generally wear as hard on the toe of their hind shoes 
as they do on the fore ones, and you will hardly ever need 
to turn them up. I don't believe either that there is any 
necessity for turning up clips on the toes of light flat 
shoes having neither toe nor heel calks on — although they 
may be turned up on the hind ones, for they are more apt 
to be driven back on the feet than the fore ones are. But 
it is mostly a matter of fancy; it don't make much differ- 
ence whether you turn clips on such shoes or not. On 
shoes for heavy draught horses, and I might say on any 
shoe that has heel and toe calks on, I believe that it is 
always best to have a good strong clip turned up, both on 
the fore shoes and the hind ones. 

If you are going to fit a shoe that is too wide for the 
foot at or across the toe, and too narrow at the heels, you 
may proceed to bring it to the right shape according to 
the following directions : Put the shoe into the fire, and 
when it is heated all over take it out, holding it near the 
toe; place it over the beak of the anvil with the heel rest- 
ing edgewise on it. Now hold it in this position while 
you strike it from the centre of the toe to about half way 
on the side; turn it then and do the same with the other 
side. It will be too wide now, both at heel and toe; you 
will now hold it up edgewise on the face of the anvil, and 
close it together until you think you have it to the right 
width at the toe. Now level it on the face of the anvil, 
and stick the pritchel in a hole on the outside rim — if it 
be very hot yet, dip it in the water and cool it off a little, 
bring it now to the foot and see if it fits properly at the 
toe ; if it does, all you have to do then is to take it to the 
anvil again, and close in the heels to suit. That being 
done, level it off, and see that the nail holes are large 
enough for the nails, and that there are no lumps or burs 
around them. All this being done now, and you have the 
shoe to fit the foot evenly all around the crust, you can 
then cool it off, and nail it on to the foot. 

If a shoe is too narrow at the toe for the foot, all you 
have to do is to heat it all over, and place it on the beak 
of the anvil, then strike it on the centre of the toe until 
you have it wide enough, having it wide enough at the toe 



26 HORSE SHOER'S COMPANION. 

you will still hold it across the beak and bring in the heels 
to the proper shape. 

If a shoe be too narrow both at the toe and the heels, 
you can widen it by heating the toe and placing the shoe 
flat on the face of the anvil, putting the tongs in between 
the heels and with the jaws of the tongs resting on the toe. 
Now you can spread it out in this way to any width you 
wish, or you may widen it by placing it across the beak of 
the anvil and striking it on the toe. If a shoe be too nar- 
row at the heels, all you have to do is to hold it across the 
beak of the anvil and strike it on each side until you bring 
them out to the right width. With these few remarks I 
believe that I may close the subject of bringing shoes to 
the right shape, for I feel that I can't explain it any bet- 
ter without having the tools to assist me, but you will bear 
in mind to fit the toe first, and then you will not have 
much trouble with the heels. If the shoe be the right size 
for the foot, by taking good notice of the shape of the 
foot, it will be an easy matter to bring it to the right 
shape. There are a great many smiths, and others, who 
believe very much in what are called " opened heeled 
shoes," which means shoes with straight heels, wide apart 
and projecting beyond the hoof, both behind and at the 
sides. Some will have their horses shod with such shoes, 
no matter what kind of foot the horse may have. I don't 
believe in putting such shoes on all kinds of feet. You 
will see horses having very low heels, and sometimes along 
with that you will see the fetlock or pastern joint, when 
he is either standing or walking, thrown back and low 
over the heels ; he don't stand with that easy and upright 
way that a horse does who has well shaped legs and feet. 
A horse having such feet I believe it is well for you to 
leave his shoes project out a little behind, and if his heels 
are narrow to let them project out a little on the sides too. 
When shod this way it will raise his heels to a better and 
more " natural" shape, and will assist him in walking and 
bringing his feet more leveller to the ground. I have 
seen horses having such feet, and the heels of their shoes 
would wear out as fast as the toe and sometimes faster. I 
have also seen shoes of the ordinary length put on such 
feet, and they have had to be taken off and longer ones 
put on, after which the horse would travel a great deal 
easier and pleasanter. I will quote from "Miles' Treatise 
on Horse Shoeing " what he says about opened heeled 
shoes : " The only reason I have ever heard in favor of 



HORSE SHOER S COMPANION. 27 

such shoes is a very bad one, viz : that the horse requires 
more support at the heels than he gets from the hoof, but 
you may depend upon it, nature has made no mistake 
about it, and if the horse really wanted more support than 
he gets from the heels of the hoof he would have had it 

* * * * it interferes with his action and ex- 
poses his sole and frog to serious injury from stones in the 
road, and the projecting portions of the shoe become 
ledges for stiff ground to cling to and pull the shoe off. 
More shoes are lost through these mischievous projections 
at the heels than from all other causes put together. 

* * * * If you wish to avoid these evils 
and keep the horse's shoes on his feet you must bring in 
the heels and let the shoes strictly follow the form of the 
foot, whatever that form may be. * * * 
Opened heeled shoes leave the frog entirely exposed to 
very large stones and are the cause of many a severe 
bruise to the navicular joint which lays the foundation of 
future incurable lameness. * * Another 
great advantage of bringing in the heels and fitting the 
shoe is the certainty that the horse will not cast his shoe, 
you lay nothing for stiff ground to- lay hold of and if you 
slightly bevel the inside quarter and heel of the shoe from 
the foot downward, as is sometimes done to prevent a 
horse from cutting, no ground in the world can pull it off, 
for the foot expanding to the weight of the horse enlarges 
the hole made by the shoe and leaves more space for the 
shoe to come out of than it made for itself to go in at ; 
but if the shoe projects beyond the hoof at any part, and 
more particularly at the heels, the foot cannot fill the hole 
made by the shoe, and stiff clay will cling round the pro- 
jections and pull the shoe off." 

The foregoing extract I believe mainly to be correct — 
all but with one exception, that is where he says " if the 
horse really wanted more support than he gets from the 
heels of the hoof he would have had it." Now we all 
know that there are horses having such deformed feet that 
if there was to be a shoe fitted exactly to the shape of the 
foot it would be difficult for the horse to get along. As I 
have before remarked, there are some feet that it you were 
to only make the shoe to the length of the hoof the horse 
would not travel easy or comfortable until you would have 
it taken off and a longer one put on. There are other 
feet so narrow at the heels that if you would bring the 
heels of the shoe in to the shape of the foot, they would 



28 HORSE SHOER'S COMPANION. 

almost be touching together. You will also see horses 
having very low heels, and sometimes along with that you 
will see the fetlock or pastern joint, when he is either 
standing or walking, thrown back and low over the heels 
— he does not stand with that easy and upright way that 
a horse does who has well-shaped legs and feet. A horse 
having such feet I believe it is well for to leave his shoes 
project out a little behind, and if his heels are narrow, to 
let them project out a little on the sides too. When shod 
this way it will raise his heels to a better and more " nat- 
ural " shape and will assist him in walking and bringing 
his feet more leveller to the ground. There are horses 
having such flat and curled feet that if you were to put 
shoes of the ordinary length on them they would go along 
in a hobbling and rocking manner, wearing out the heels 
of the shoes faster than the toes. Such feet will have to 
be shod long, after which you will see that it improves the 
horse's gait and he goes along much easier and pleasanter. 
Therefore you will see it will not do to make a shoe fit 
the exact shape of every kind of a foot. There are spec- 
ial shoes required for some particular kinds of feet, which 
only can be made and fitted by an expert. 

While not being in favor of shoeing with opened heeled 
shoes, still a horse may be shod with them without receiv- 
ing any immediate injury, providing there be good roads 
for him to travel on. Horses that work in mines, I posi- 
tively believe it to be wrong to have them shod long and 
wide at the heels, because it endangers the horse to be 
killed or crippled by having him shod in such a manner. 
I will tell you why : horses working in mines gener- 
ally see but very little from the light of the lamp ; the 
roads are very rough in some places, and very often they 
have to haul loads over roads having no filling in between 
the ties. Again, the great speed they are sometimes driv- 
en at, and the short turns and narrow places that they 
have to go through, together with the great number of 
switches and crossings they have to travel over, place the 
horse in danger of having his feet fastened in hundreds of 
places if shod with shoes projecting at the heels. I have 
shod mine-horses for a number of years, and therefore 
have had every opportunity of seeing this matter fully 
tested. 

Toe pieces for shoes can be made of half-inch square 
iron or steel, more or less, according to the size of the 
shoe. Large heavy shoes that are used on hard roads 



HORSE SHOER S COMPANION. 2Q 

will require a heavier toe. To make the toe piece, about as 
good a way as any is to have a rod and turn down a square 
point on the end of it about half an inch long, then cut 
the piece off from one inch and three-eighths to two and a 
quarter inches long, which can be ranged in lengths ac- 
cording to the size of the shoe. You can also weld the 
toe piece on from the rod which will just do as well, and 
some prefer the latter way, because if the point of the toe 
piece that is driven in the shoe be not properly welded, it 
will weaken the shoe there, thereby making it more liable 
to break at that place. 

To weld the piece on the shoe : Having the shoe hot 
take it and place the toe flat on the face of the anvil with 
the side next to the foot uppermost, now draw out the toe 
a little with the pane or ball of the hammer (do not draw 
it much or very thin for it w r ould burn off in the fire while 
taking the heat to weld the toe on), then turn the shoe up 
side down, with the toe resting flat on the anvil and stamp 
a hole with the pritchel on the right hand side, be careful 
when you stamp the hole to have it so that when the toe 
piece is placed on it will be in the centre of the shoe, be- 
ing not more on one side than the other. Now take hold 
of the toe piece with the tongs and place the turned down 
point into the stamped hole in the shoe and hammer it 
down through over the small hole in the anvil, turn the 
shoe upside down again and strike it at the place where 
the point has been driven into it, then level it down and 
set it square on the shoe, and it will be ready for welding. 
Place the shoe in the fire with the toe piece underneath, 
and when having a welding heat on it take it out with the 
toe uppermost and place it flat on the face of the anvil, 
then weld the toe piece down. While yet having a wield- 
ing heat on it, bring the shoe quickly across the beak of 
the anvil with the toe square on the top and strike on the 
rim of the shoe at both ends of the toe piece, you will 
have them welded solid where the toe piece was stuck 
into the shoe, next bring it on the face of the anvil holding 
the toe even with the outside edge of the anvil and the 
part that you have previously drawn a little (for the pur- 
pose of a clip) projecting over the edge, and you can 
strike it down square over the edge with the corner of the 
face of your hand hammer, you may bring it to the beak 
again and hold it across as before, giving it a few blows to 
bring the clip down, bring it and hold it on the inside of 
the anvil with the clip uppermost and resting close in 



30 HORSE SHOER S COMPANION. 

against it, draw the clip out now with the face of the ham- 
mer, level off the shoe and turn up the heels, and you 
have it finished. 

In welding the toe piece on from the rod you will have 
to cut it around slightly to the length required, previously 
to welding, as then the rod can be broken from the toe 
piece after it is welded to the shoe. Of course you will 
not need to draw out the toe of the shoe previously to 
welding the toe piece on, except you want to turn up a 
clip on the shoe. 

Be sure that you have the nail holes large enough, and 
the groove wide enough so that the nails will go well down 
into the shoe, it looks bad to see the heads of the nails 
projecting up too high above the level of the shoe. It 
would be well for you to have the cutting edge of the ful- 
lering iron slightly rounded off, it will prevent the shoe 
from splitting so easily between the holes. 

In opening the holes out it would be well for to let them 
incline inward, not for the purpose, though, of setting and 
driving the nails slanting, for the nails should be set in 
the centre of the holes and driven straight through so that 
the foot may not be cramped or forced out of its natural 
shape. But the crust may be broken, or it may not have 
the proper degree of obliquity backward, which in sound 
and well-formed feet is generally at about forty-five de- 
grees, when it is more oblique and the crust sunken or 
said to have " fallen in," then it is well for you to have the 
holes to incline inwards, for the reason that you will then 
have a chance to set the nail in any manner you wish in 
order to bring it out in any desired place in the crust. If 
you had not the holes opened out in such a way, very 
likely you could not set the nails to go as low down as you 
want them to go. Therefore let the nail holes incline in- 
ward a little so then you can set the nail to any degree of 
slanting that may be required, but unless you can't avoid 
it, always set the nails plumb and drive them straight 
through. 

When fitting the shoe and while yet sufficiently hot you 
slightly touch the crust to mark any inequalities that may 
have been left after paring, so that then you can see ex- 
actly where the uneven places are, and more particularly 
if you have a clip on the shoe you can then have it well 
seated in at the toe better and neater than you can do it 
with the knife. If you have pared the foot properly and 
made the shoe perfectly level you will not injure the hoof 



HORSE SHOER S COMPANION. 3I 

by touching it with a moderately hot shoe. It is a mistake 
to suppose that it will harm the foot any. I would not 
have you to burn it into the foot after having been paired 
down. That would be entirely wrong, and should never 
be done. Then all you have to do (if it needs to be done 
at all) is merely to scorch the hoof so that the shoe may 
be closely seated. So when you have it fitted in the man- 
ner that I have endeavored to explain — when the shoe 
and the foot fits together close like the leaves of a book — 
then I think you have done all that is required to be done 
in fitting a shoe, and therefore you may proceed to nail it 
on. 



Setting and Nailing on the Shoe ; Also, the Size 
and Number of Nails to be Used. 

In nailing on the shoe the first thing that you will have 
to see to is that the shoe fits the foot properly. But you 
may have the shoe fitted as well as it can be, still by a 
little carelessness your good fitting shoe may be all out of 
shape if you be not careful in setting it on. It is a very 
common occurrence for shoes to be set crooked, some- 
times, it happens, through carelessness, but oftener by 
being in a hurry to get through with the job. If the shoer, 
after having driven the first nail or two, then discovers 
that the shoe is not set exactly as it ought to be, he will, 
hardly go to the trouble of drawing the nail or nails and 
setting it over again ; he will very likely say (to himself ) 
let it go, it will do good enough, and so he will finish 
nailing on the shoe as it is, just as if everything were all 
right, and so it will be, to every one but himself, for it is 
very seldom noticed. But even if it be not noticed it 
should not be done, for the right way is the best way of 
doing anything. Be sure to have the nail holes in the 
shoe large enough, then if you have good nails it will re- 
quire but very little skill to nail it on. Set the shoe 
straight on the foot and then drive a nail. After you have 
the first nail driven take notice if the shoe has twisted 
around any. If it be even with the crust, be set straight 
on the foot, and be in its proper place, you may then 
drive a nail in the other side of it. Now, having two nails 
driven, one on each side, you will then have it secure to 
its place on the foot, and you may then drive the balance 



32 HORSE SHOER S COMPANION. 

of the nails call around. Before proceeding any further in 
the matter of nailing on the shoe, I think that it would be 
well for me to say a few words in regard to the nails, be- 
lieving at the same time that anything I might say in 
regard to making nails would be of no practical use, be- 
cause I do not think you will find one man in fifty that 
can make a nail that is fit to be used, except a man that 
has had good practical experience in making them, and 
even a good many of those who have had years of expe- 
rience make a very inferior nail. A young beginner at 
blacksmithing thinks that he has done a wonderful job 
when he has made a horseshoe nail. He thinks that he is 
getting along "right smart" in the business, and that he 
will soon be able to shoe a horse and make a nail as good 
as the next. But, however, the nails should be made 
from the best Norway or Swedish iron nail rod, and not 
allowed to cool too quickly. Let them drop around 
loosely on the floor to cool gradually. They should be 
made rather broad and not too thick, so that they will 
turn over easy in clinching and not tear the hoof. If you 
have them thick and heavy ( except you want them for 
use in a large and strong hoof which would require a good 
stout nail ) in turning over the clinches the crust under 
the clinch would be drawn down, and consequently there 
will be a small hole in the hoof above each nail which 
will obviously take away some support from behind the 
clinch, thereby leaving it more liable to raise up. Horses 
having small feet and a thin crust will have to be shod 
with a light nail, because if you were to use heavy nails 
in such feet they would tear the crust when turning the 
clinches, and also would probably press against the inside 
or sensitive part of the foot, but your own judgment can 
direct you in this matter, for you are well aware that it 
will not require so large a nail for a horse having a small 
hoof and a thin crust as one having a large ■ hoof and a 
thick crust. 

Every shoer ought to know how to make a good nail, 
just as much so as to know how to make a good shoe, 
although there is no necessity now of making nails by 
hand, for the machine made nails that are now manufac- 
tured ( those of the best makers ) are as good in every 
way as can be made by hand, in fact they are better, for 
the reason that they are more uniform in size and better 
finished than those that are made by hand. There are 
all sizes that are required made, and it is also cheaper to 
buy them ready made than for to make them by hand. 



HORSE SHOER S COMPANION. 33 

In pointing nails you should not bevel them off too 
short on the point, for by doing so you would have to set 
the nail leaning outward to bring it down low enough in 
the crust, which setting of the nail might cause it to take 
too deep a hold in the foot for it to come out in the place 
that you would want it, thereby causing it to be too near 
or actually pressing against the quick or sensitive part of 
the foot, which would cause the horse a great deal of suf- 
fering and uneasiness. As a rule bevel the nails long, set 
them straight, and they will come out in the right place if 
the foot be well formed. It is well known that there are 
great variations and local peculiarities in the feet of horses 
which will require corresponding changes in the design of 
the shoe, in the placing of the nail holes in the shoe, in 
the number and size of nails to be used, and in setting 
the nail in the hoof so that it will come out at the proper 
place. In all such variations you will have to be guided 
principally by your own judgment as to what will be re- 
quired in each particular case. Do not hammer the ex- 
treme end or point of the nail too flat or thin, because 
when driving it the point would be apt to curl up, and 
then instead of it coming out of the foot it would just be 
as likely to turn into it, and if the latter was the case, you 
would surely then be bungling things. 

All nails that may be split or have flaws of any kind in 
them I would advise you to throw them away at once. 
Don't use any but good, clean, sound nails. All others 
are not safe to use. 

After you have the nails all driven, the next thing for 
you to do will be to draw the clinches. If the foot be sore 
or tender, or if the crust be thin and weak, it will not do 
for you to tighten them very much, but if the hoof be 
hard and sound you may draw them quite tight and need 
not be afraid of injuring the foot. Now, after having 
drawn the clinches, if you are not in any great hurry, you 
may let the foot drop and straighten your back, which 
by this time may feel a little "kinked," particularly if you 
are subject to any degree of weakness in that locality. 
Try to have the nails come out evenly around the hoof, 
on a straight line one with the other, and the same dis- 
tance apart. It looks better and more mechanical to have 
theni this way than to be scattered up and down in every 
direction. File the clinches down short, and under each 
clinch file a slight notch for it to turn into. Be careful 
not to file the clinch half across when you are filing 



34 horse shoer's companion. 

under it, which is very often done in careless shoeing. 
Now, turn them over with the hammer, bringing them 
closely into the hoof. I say turn the clinch over with the 
hammer, for there are contrivances made for pulling or 
drawing them over, but you cannot get anything that will 
turn over as good and as close a clinch as the hammer. 
Therefore I would advise you to use it in preference to 
all other "machines." It is more readily handled and 
will give more general satisfaction in the end. Having 
the clinches turned down, rasp the hoof below them 
evenly with the shoe. Do not rasp much on the clinch, 
for by doing so you would very quickly cut it through at 
the bend, thereby causing the nail to be almost perfectly 
useless, or if not cut altogether through would perhaps be 
so thin that it would only have the appearance of a 
clinch. The hoof need not be rasped above the clinches. 
There is no necessity for doing it, except that there may 
be some slight irregularities on it, then, in such cases, it 
may be slightly rasped all over. Rasping all over the foot 
makes it "shine " and look nicer, but that is all the advan- 
tage it is to the foot. If anything, it is conducive to 
injure the foot, for it takes off the outer covering of the 
hoof, which causes the crust to become brittle and hard. 
In a word it leaves it entirely exposed for the natural 
moisture and toughness to leave it. 

In changing the foot from one side of you to the other 
you should not turn facing the horse, but turn with your 
back to him, changing the foot behind you, then if he 
jerks his foot from you he is not so apt to injure you, and 
besides you can hold on to the foot better. 

In regard to the number of nails to be used in a shoe 
I would say that eight nails is enough to hold on any 
shoe, if shod with suitable nails, no matter how large it 
may be, and is properly fitted. Seven or five nails would 
be sufficient to hold on the shoe of any horse that would 
have light work to do, always placing the less number on 
the inside of the foot to prevent any possible binding, 
and also to leave the inner quarter and heel free for any 
expansions that may be. 

There are some who assert that five nails are sufficient 
to hold on a shoe at a?iy kind of work, and even that three 
would be enough. Well, we can take this idea for what 
it is worth, but I do not altogether believe in it. I would 
have at least five nails in any shoe. Horses that have 
small feet, and, as I have remarked, that may have light 



HORSE SHOER S COMPANION. 35 

work to do, seven or five nails will hold on their shoes if 
they are well put on until they are entirely worn out. 
But heavy horses, having good sound feet and hard work 
to do, nail their shoes with eight nails of a suitable size, 
and if they be well put on they will stay there until they 
are worn out, or until you want to have them removed. 

I will now suppose that. you have just shod a horse. 
Therefore I have every reason to believe that if you have 
followed the principles and practices of shoeing that I 
have laid down I feel no hesitancy in saying that you will 
not be far wrong in considering that you have performed 
your work well, and done all that is necessary to be done, 
in order to do good shoeing. 



On Whipping and Abusing Horses 

While Being Shod, and also Ways of Holding and Man- 
aging Them While Shoeing. 

Before lifting a horse's foot to prepare it for shoeing 
you must be resolved that you are going to put the shoe 
on, no matter how vicious or contrary he may be. Some 
men have a very bad habit of leaving the horse drop his 
foot if he only gives a few slight jerks or exhibits any 
signs of fright or uneasiness. Of course there are horses 
that are so extremely vicious and stubborn that it is 
almost impossible to shoe them without tying or holding 
them in some way, but they are few in number, and the 
extremely bad ones are probably not more than one in a 
hundred. There are other horses again that are not so 
bad, but still they require watching, and you should be 
careful while shoeing them. 

If you are going to shoe a horse that you don't know 
anything about you can inquire of the party who brought 
him to you whether he is gentle or otherwise, and likely 
he can tell you. If he be hard to shoe you must be on 
your guard while shoeing him, but don't be afraid of him, 
for if you do he will know it quite as well as yourself, and 
then as a natural consequence, instead of standing gentle 
and quiet, he will be getting cramfull of all manner of 
contrariness. If you know, then, that a horse is contrary 
and hard to be shod, don't hold on to his foot too much 
if you see that he is determined to take it from you. 



36 HORSE SHOER'S COMPANION. 

Better a great deal let his foot go than to run the risk of 
being injured by holding on to it, for if he is determined 
to put his foot to the ground you cannot hold it tip, and 
there is no use in trying to. But remember, you must 
not let him have his foot at every little jerk or move that 
he makes. It learns him a very bad habit, and if he once 
gets into it he will always want to take his foot from you 
while you are shoeing him, and therefore, instead of get- 
ting better to be shod, he will be steadily getting worse. 
And let me tell you that it is this thing of letting horses 
feet go so easily, particularly for the first few times that 
they are being shod, that helps in a great measure to 
make them hard to be shod afterwards. Therefore, while 
you are shoeing have patience, courage, and thorough good 
temper, for by having these dispositions you will have a 
great deal better chance to get along with him with 
more satisfaction than to be timid and impatient. There 
are a great many while shoeing a horse or mule (particu- 
larly the latter, for they are generally the most contrary) 
whip or club them cruelly and unwarrantably. I am 
aware that it is very hard sometimes to hold one's temper 
when they come across a contrary horse or mule, particu- 
larly when you are pulled and jerked around the shop or 
yard until you are really tired of it ; one would almost 
require to have the patience of Job to put up with it, yet 
you must remember that beating some horses and mules 
does not do them a particle of good, in fact the more you 
beat such untractable specimens the worse they get. 
Others again will stand very quiet after having received a 
moderate whipping. But then if kind words and gentle 
treatment will be of no avail you will be compelled to re- 
sort to some other means of compelling them to stand 
quiet, or, if necessary, lay quiet if they will not stand, 
80, in order that you may be better enabled to reprove 
them more efficaciously for their stubborn and refractory 
disposition, I will give a few directions as to handling 
under such circumstances. Should the horse refuse to 
have either of his hind feet handled, he may be made to 
submit to your handling, or as much so that you can put 
the shoe on him without much fear of him seriously kick- 
ing you. Get a good stout strap or sufficiently strong 
chain and tie one end of it around his neck in a loop, then 
pass the other end around his fetlock and up through the 
loop on his neck ; you can then pull on the end just put 
through the loop and thereby bring the foot up off the 



HORSE SHOER'S COMPANION. 37 

ground as high as you want it. Have some one to stand 
at his head holding with one hand the bridle and with the 
other the rope chain or strap that you have the foot held 
up by. Having the foot held in this manner you will be 
able to get the shoe on quite well. But, in the position 
of the foot, you may not turn out a fancy job, still under 
the circumstances it will be sufficiently well done. It may 
be in some cases that in order to control horses that are 
outrageously vicious and uncontrollable that they may 
have to be thrown, so as to more effectually subdue them 
while shoeing. To make a horse lie down then you can 
proceed as follows : Bend his lelt fore leg up and then 
slip a loop over it, or have a strap and buckle it across so 
that he cannot let it down. Then put a girth or strap 
around his body. Now, fasten a strap to the other fore 
foot above the hoof, and then pass the end of it through 
the strap that you have around his body. You may have 
some kind of a fastening or ring attached to the girth for 
to pass the rope through that is fastened to his foot, so 
that the rope will be kept in the right position when pull- 
ing. You will now stand on the left side of the horse, 
Take a hold of the bit with your left hand, and with your 
right pull on the strap that is attached to his right foot, 
at the same time bearing against his shoulder steady and 
strong until you cause him to move, then when he takes 
his weight off his foot your pulling will cause him to come 
to his knees. Now, having him brought to his knees, you 
will still keep the strap tight in your hand so that he can- 
not straighten his leg if he attempts to rise. Be gentle 
with him now and hold him steady, at the same time 
bearing against him and drawing his head in toward you. 
Having him in this position he will soon lie down, and 
then you may handle him as you please. By having small 
straps with rings attached to them and fastening one on 
each foot around the fetlock and then passing a rope 
through them you can then draw his feet up together and 
shoe him in spite of his stubbornness. You may also hold 
him by putting a twitch on his nose, which you can make 
by getting a stick, twenty inches or two feet long, bore a 
hole in the end of it, and tie a piece of rope in it in a 
loop ; make the loop about six inches long, put it around 
his nose, and then twist the stick around until you tighten 
the rope cm hind, You may use a tongs too for the same 
purpose, it will suit generally just as well. Ciet a medium 
sized one, hold it ready in one hand, and with the othei 



38 HORSE SHOER S COMPANION. 

hand take a hold of his nose, or, better yet, have some one 
to hold his nose for you while you put the legs of the 
tongs across it, when you will immediately tighten it on 
him. Now, except he be very stubborn or mischievous, 
you can hold him with it. Do not squeeze too tight on 
him, but just enough to let him feel it, except that he 
becomes somewhat unruly, then you may bring him to 
time by putting on a little more pressure. Always re- 
member when putting a twitch on to stand partly on one 
side of the horse, as then if he should strike or rear up 
you will not stand in danger of being hurt. I have seen 
horses become furious when they would have a twitch 
put on them. Some will strike at you with their feet and 
try to jump on you. Others, again, will rear up on their 
hind feet. I remember that there was a horse brought 
to me once to be shod. 1 was told that he was pretty 
contrary to manage, so I thought that I would put a tongs 
'on the "fellow" to tame him a little. I had just put it 
on him and commenced to tighten it when he suddenly, 
and without any warning, reared up on his hind feet, 
jerked the tongs out of my hands, sent it flying over his 
head and fell completely over on his back. So you see 
that it will not do to be rough' or to beat some horses. 
In my experience I have always succeeded better while 
shoeing horses to be kind and gentle with them, rather 
than to be harsh and severe. I would most emphatically 
deprecate the cruel and barbarous manner in which some 
horses are used while shoeing. It appears that some 
men have no limit to their savage brutality in managing 
horses. When you meet a gnarled and cross-grained 
groom or blacksmith spare your horse from him, if you 
value him for the worth that is in him. Such treatment 
as pulling the tongue out of the horse's mouth and tieing 
or binding a rope or chain to it, or putting stones in his 
ears, or getting a log-chain and tieing it around his neck 
and almost pulling his head off, together with other sav- 
age means of coercion, is something that ought not to 
be done, for, generally speaking, such practices aggravate 
the horse and terrorizes him so much that in the end 
such treatment jdpes no good, and besides you have lost a 
great deal of time and have been put to considerable 
worry of mind and exasperation that you get no pay for. 
Stocks are a very good contrivance for holding unman- 
ageable horses and mules while being shod, and if the 
frame be properly made and well put together you can 



HORSE SHOER S COMPANION. 39 

easily control them in it. During our late civil war they 
were very commonly used at the shoeing shops connected 
with the army for the purpose of forcing those obstinate 
and mischievous mules into submission when they could 
hardly be conquered by any other means. I will now 
endeavor to explain to you a very good plan for con- 
structing one. Get four pieces of oak timber, say six by 
six inches, and six or seven feet long, or long enough so 
that when framed or sunk in the ground they will be high 
enough for a horse to pass under a piece that will be 
framed on top of the posts to connect them together. 
Set the posts about three feet apart in width and about 
six feet apart in length. Have the posts framed on top 
and connected together all around. Make two rollers 
of suitable size and put one in on each side of the frame, 
and on a line about even with the top of the horses' body. 
Now, in the front of the frame or the place where his 
neck will be, you must have two pieces of about three by 
twelve inch timber framed or fitted into a groove on the 
posts. In the centre of these pieces you will have them 
cut out in the same shape as a horse's collar, with the 
larger circle underneath and the small one on top. The 
bottom piece you must' have fastened stationary, and in 
such position that it will fit exactly under his neck as he 
stands. The top piece you will have fixed movable, so 
that you can slide it up and down when required. When 
bringing the horse into the stocks you will have the top 
piece raised, and as soon as you get him into the proper 
place you can let it down across his neck and then you 
will have him fast. Have a fastening on this movable 
piece so that the horse cannot raise it up after it has been 
let down over his neck. Next you will proceed to raise 
him up. Have a strong wide leather or canvas strap 
about two or two and a half feet wide with three or four 
pieces of chains or ropes attached to each end of it to 
connect with the rollers on each side. Now you will pass 
the strap under his belly, attach it to the rollers, and then 
raise him up by turning the rollers by means of sticks 
used as levers in holes that you will have bored in them 
for that purpose. As you can now raise him up off the 
ground, he probably will have to be quiet enough. You 
may have stakes driven in the ground, or you can have 
them framed there, just high enough so that his feet can 
rest comfortably on them. Have the top of these stakes 
rounded or hollowed out on top suitable for his fetlock, 



40 HORSE SHOER S COMPANION. 

so that when his foot is placed on it that it will rest com- 
fortably. Have clasps made of stout pieces of leather or 
a thin piece of iron, rounded off so that it will fit neatly 
around the fetlock. You will fasten these clasps on top 
of the stakes, and when you place the foot in position 
you can then turn the clasp around the fetlock and you 
will then have the foot firmly secured. It may not be 
necessary for you to have the feet secured in this way. 
You may get along very well with him, after having him 
raised up, without fastening his feet. If he only be bad 
to shoe with the hind feet it may be sufficient for you to 
tie one end of a rope around his fetlock and then pull his 
foot up and back, fastening the other end of the rope to 
a stake that you can have driven in the ground two or 
three yards distant from the frame. It would be well for 
you to have the frame braced on the sides and in front 
with good stout braces, so that if the horse commences to 
get enraged after being put in, that it will be sufficiently 
strong to hold him. It is not often that it becomes neces- 
sary to tie or fasten up horses while being shod, and 
unless it be absolutely necessary I would not advise you 
to do so, for, subdued in this way momentarily, it hardly 
ever has any lasting effect on them. Try all gentle means 
of holding a horse first, and if it be seen that he cannot 
be held, then of course you will have to resort to any 
means in your power to conquer him, for it is indis- 
pensable that he be shod, no matter how contrary he be. 



Remarks 



On the Choosing and Taking Care of the Feet, Removing 

the Shoes, &c. 

In buying a horse always pay particular attention to 
his feet, for a horse with bad feet will not be of much ser- 
vice. It will be a continual bother for to have him kept 
shod in good condition, so that he will be able to get 
along and work satisfactorily, as well as the disagreeable- 
ness in doctoring and taking care of them. If a founda- 
tion be weak and shaky you may undoubtedly expect 
the structure to gradually totter and fall. So, also, with 
a horse; if his foundation be weak you cannot expect 
much service of him. Make it a point to choose goodj 
smooth and tough looking feet; of medium size 5 free from 



HORSE SHOER S COMPANION. 41 

cracks or any indications of them, to be clean of all undue 
lumps or wrinkles, or anything that you might think 
would grow to mar the appearance or healthy condition 
of the foot. It is sometimes the case that a horse -may 
have every appearance of having a good sound and ser- 
viceable foot, but such may not be the case, for the crust 
of the foot may be so thin and soft that it cannot endure 
much hard usage, as well as the liability he is in to be 
crippled in shoeing, owing to the thinness of the crust, 
and thereby there is danger in having the nails pressing 
against or driven into the sensitive part of the foot. You 
can nearly always know such feet by their fine and 
weakly outside appearance. See that the heels of the 
feet be good and sound, the frog in a good healthy con- 
dition and the soles dished or hollow. So then if the feet 
have all these marks you may expect that you will not 
be disappointed in relying on their serviceableness. The 
sound condition of the feet of horses is undoubtedly a 
very important matter with all persons who have any- 
thing to do with that useful animal. Very few have a 
sufficient knowledge of the proper way in which horses 
feet ought to be attended to, for it is well known that 
there are a great variety of causes which will subject 
them to lameness in the feet, more so probably than in 
any other part and which, if neglected, often leads on to 
very serious and many times permanent diseases. There- 
fore the following remarks may be of service : A very 
important point for which the blacksmith is not answera- 
ble is that some persons allow the shoes to be worn just 
as long as there will be a piece of them left sticking to 
the hoof. Farmers especially will do this, but still it is 
not as bad for farmers to do it as for those who are driv- 
ing over hard and rough roads. Now, it is altogether 
wrong to let shoes be worn in this manner, for it gives 
the feet of the horse a chance to grow irregular, it causes 
an uneven bearing on the sole of the foot, leaves it more 
liable to injury, and also hinders him to a certain degree 
from performing his work as agreeably and well as if he had 
good tight-fitting shoes on. Often you see horses having 
but one, two or three shoes on; the consequence of let- 
ting a horse go in this manner will be to have one hoof 
larger than the other, which is evidently known that the 
bare feet or foot will wear down sooner than the ones 
that are shod ; thus often there arises the cause for the 
remark as commonly heard " Your horse has odd feet." 



42 HORSE SHOER S COMPANION. 

Again, you may often see horses having their shoes on so 
long that the hoof will have grown out over them. Now 
when this is allowed to occur with a horse having weak 
feet or being subject to corns or other diseases, or weak- 
ness of the sole, it then most assuredly is very injurious 
to the foot. The outside crust or rim of the foot is the 
place where the bearing should be, and it is therefore 
very unpardonable neglect to allow the horse to travel 
shod in any other manner. It is very well to allow horses 
who have hard, brittle feet to go barefoot a few days oc- 
casionally in a damp or marshy field, it will soften the 
hoof considerably and will also have a tendency to ex- 
pand the foot, and so far be a preventive of contraction. 
If the horse have bad and ill growing feet it will also be 
a great help to him by turning him out barefoot a while, 
it will soften the hoof and thereby stimulate the growth 
which is just what is needed in such cases. If in either 
case or on any occasion, if by turning the animal out you 
find by doing so that it will be an injury to his feet by too 
much breakage of the crust or injury to the soles of the 
feet, then in such cases you will have to do the best you 
can with him in the stable and apply such remedies as a 
competent farrier would prescribe. A great deal of an- 
noying evils, and sometimes very protracted diseases of 
the feet, result from the manner in which the stable is 
kept. Foul, dirty or badly located stables are a disgrace- 
ful place to keep horses standing in; it is a wonder that 
owners and those having the care of this poor, dumb 
brute — yet " Man's best and noblest four-footed friend" 
would allow such to be the case, but some are extremely 
careless in this regard, and it seems to be that so long as 
the horse looks well in other respects, that there is not 
much attention paid to his feet, except when he com- 
mences to get lame, and then at once very probably the 
first thing that will be looked at is the feet to see if the 
trouble be not there. Then if the lameness proves to be 
there, the treatment will at once commence — when per- 
haps it may be almost too late, whereas, by a little atten- 
tion and foresight all the trouble could have been avoided. 
It is a very common occurence for horses' feet to be- 
come diseased that are allowed to stand in wet and filthy 
stables, and it is no wonder either, for anyone having 
the least bit of common sense ought to know that it is 
wrong. The invariable result of such carelessness is 
that the soft part of the sole and frog become diseased, 



HORSE SHOER'S COMPANION. 43 

the outer coating of the frog becomes partly decomposed, 
having a soft supperative and filthy appearance, discharg- 
ing at the same time an odious smelling matter, conse- 
quently the frog wastes away. The protection that it 
naturally gives to the sensitive organs beneath is in a 
measure impaired and then very often serious results will 
follow. Earth floors are generally considered to be the 
best for horses to stand upon, providing they be kept 
clean and dry, but as it would take considerable care and 
labor to keep them in proper condition, wooden floors 
are mostly used. Horses that are kept continually stand- 
ing on wooden floors will cause their feet to become dry, 
hard and brittle, liable to crack or chip off in shoeing — 
whereas if kept standing on a good earth floor this trouble 
in a great measure will be obviated. When the feet are 
very hard and brittle it is a very good plan to give them 
a "stopping" occasionally — that is, fill the hollow of the 
foot with mud and cow dung mixed, and leave it there all 
night. If that does not do satisfactorily you may use the 
dung alone. In case of extreme hardness of the hoof you 
may use a little salt in the above, but I would not advise 
you to use it in any ordinary case of hardness of the hoof 
as it would be most too strong It would be very well 
if you intend to have your horse shod to give his feet a 
stopping the day before, in order that they may be more 
tough and yielding in the hands of the shoer. 

If it happens that a horse's feet are bad — very bad — 
or, in other words, generally "used up " all around, then 
in such case it will be well to take off his shoes, then 
open the heels on each side of the cleft of the frog until 
you can see the quick. If there be a thick sole pare it 
down also until it will yield to hard pressure of your 
thumbs ; then, if it be grass time, turn him out in a 
smooth, moist field, free from stones and other rough sub- 
stances, for a few weeks, or months if you can spare him, 
and if that don't help him or effect a cure, I would almost 
be of the opinion that you might "give him up." You 
need not be afraid that the paring, as recommended, will 
do any harm, for by doing so you cut away that hard, 
bony substance which, in such feet especially, is a great 
hindrance to the free and natural growth of the feet, 
which in all feet is so much desired, more or less, for 
when once the feet fall off from a natural growth then 
you may expect disease and malformation with all their 
attendant evils to set in. 



44 HORSE SHOER S COMPANION. 

Relative to the removing of horses' shoes, it will be 
necessary to remove them when the feet have outgrown 
the old ones, or when they become loose or worn out. 
There can be no regular time laid down when horses' shoes 
should be removed; it altogether depends upon the na- 
tural growth of the feet and degree of wear that the shoes 
are subject to. All horses' feet do not grow alike; some 
grow a great deal faster than others, and some also wear 
their shoes out quicker than others, so that you will have 
to be guided by the circumstances of the case. The con- 
dition of the foot has to be taken into consideration. 
Horses that are employed on roads and hard ground will 
need shoeing much oftener than those that are used at 
farming ; but unless caused by accident, or on account of 
some disease or injury to the foot, not oftener than once 
a month. I believe a shoe should not be allowed to re- 
main on a horse's foot in any case longer than six or 
seven weeks without being taken off and refitted. With 
some horses, and in some cases, it would be necessary to 
have them removed every two or three weeks. I am un- 
der the impression that there is no one but can tell when 
the shoe ought to be removed ; both the feet and the 
shoes, in most cases, will show it, and generally speaking, 
it will not require any knowledge of shoeing to be a judge 
of this matter. Even if there was a specified time laid 
down as to how long a time shoes should remain on cer- 
tain horses and particular kind of feet, it would all be of 
no use, for every owner, and those in care of horses, for 
the most part, have their own peculiar notions about 
the matter, and therefore they will say themselves what 
time they shall be removed. And such being the case the 
shoer will have no say in the matter, but do as he is di- 
rected. Finally, I would say, have the shoes removed 
whenever you think the condition of the foot would re- 
quire it, let that time be long or short, believing at the 
same time, without any presumptive feeling on my part, 
that if you have paid particular attention in reading parts 
of the foregoing pages, which relate more particularly to 
the condition of the foot and the shoe, that then you will 
not require to be possessed of any extraordinary amount 
of intelligence to be able to determine accurately at what 
time the shoe should be removed. 



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